Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania as well as former mayor of Philadelphia, said that progressive Democrats should support moderate Democrats such as Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate in the Tuesday special election in Pennsylvania for an open House seat.
"Conor Lamb is a lesson to us as a party. Conor Lamb ran as a conservative Democrat, certainly a moderate. He's a moderate on gun rights, he's for background checks, but against an assault weapon ban. He's pro-life, although he said he would vote to keep Planned Parenthood up and running. So he's a true moderate, and he reflects the district," Rendell said on CNN's "New Day."
"We have to understand. These are the type of Democrats that can win."
Conor Lamb, if he wins, would be casting a vote for speaker of the House, Rendell said. "We need a Democratic speaker of the House, because we can't get our legislation to the floor without controlling who's speaker," Rendell said.
Lamb winning would present a poor forecast for Republicans in upcoming races, Rendell said.
"According to the Monmouth poll, 51 percent of those voters (in the Pennsylvania district where Lamb is running) still have a favorable opinion of Donald Trump. If they can't win in that election, if Donald Trump can't bring out voters who are favorably inclined to him, to vote for Republican congressional candidates in this district, what's going to happen in suburban Philadelphia, or suburban Cleveland, or suburban Detroit? They're going to get killed," Rendell said.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., also offered praise for Lamb Tuesday. "He's going to do it by standing for things, not just talking about how terrible (President Donald) Trump is," Moulton said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."